Dear Mom and Dad,
I think a thank you is long overdue. I’m saying thank you for all the things you do for my brothers and I that go unnoticed (but thanks for those too). I want to say thank you for going to Africa – Rwanda specifically.
When you first said you were going to Rwanda I was not surprised in the least. World travel and missions work has never seemed to be too far out of your comfort zone, so I figured you would go and you grow a little from the experience. But as the trip has progressed Africa has been in the news more and more lately – no thanks to Ebola. I want to thank you not simply because you are going, but because you are going despite Ebola.
Throughout this process, I have been asked, you have been asked, and your team has been asked, “Why are you going to Africa during the Ebola crisis?” The easy answer is because we all understand that you are just as likely to get Ebola in Rwanda as you are to be able to kiss a dead man in Hawai’i while standing in Illinois. But that’s not the real answer. You’re still going because you trust God. You’re still going because you have faith that God will take care of you while you are gone.
I am so very proud of you for living out your faith. But more than proud I am grateful. Thank you both for going to Africa despite Ebola. Because my brothers and I are watching you and we are learning from you. Even though we are grown, we still look to you as an example (you will NEVER escape this). So thank you for living your lives in a way that teaches me, Andy, and Blake how to live out our faiths.
One of my favorite missionary stories is of a man named John Paton. God sent him to Australia to reach the New Hebrine tribe on an Island there. This tribe practiced cannibalism and he was constantly told that he would be eaten by them. This was his response, “I confess to you that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms. And in the great day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours [which was eaten by worms] in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.” He did fear being eaten by cannibals because for him, “To live Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
To me, you are like modern day John Patons, you are going even though there is risk involved. You are going despite what others think. You are going because God has sent them. There is always risk involved and that is why it takes faith to go and share the gospel. I am so proud of you for living in this manner.
So Mom and Dad,
Thank you for going to Africa, thank you for trusting God, thank you for living out your faith because it is an example to me, and Andy, and Blake.
I love you both very much and am so proud of you and grateful for the example you have set for me.
Love,
KATIE
My parents are going to Africa in a team of 6 people. If you would like to help support them going, please first pray for safety and consider giving them a financial donation. To learn more about the trip and how to support them, please click on the links below.
JACINTA – http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/help-send-jacinta-to-rwanda-on-a-mission-/186572
Cal and Emily – http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/cal-and-emily-s-rwanda-mission-trip/151132
Thomas
Joe and Tanya (will be going in June) – http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/joe-and-tanya-s-mission-trip-to-rwanda/193975
Springbrook Cares Mission Team – https://www.facebook.com/SCCMissionsTeam
